It is 1948 and England is still shaken by war. At 21 Nevern Street, London, Queenie Bligh takes in lodgers who have recently arrived from Jamaica. She feels she has no choice. Her husband, Bernard, did not return from the war. What else could she do? Among her tenants are Gilbert and his new wife, Hortense. Gilbert Joseph was one of the thousands of Jamaican men who joined the RAF to fight against Hitler. He finds himself treated very differently now that he is no longer in a blue uniform. It is desperation that makes him remember a wartime friendship with Queenie and knock at her door. Queenie's neighbours do not approve of her choice of tenants. England may be recovering from a war but at 21 Nevern Street it has only just begun.